Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Summer is coming to an end.

Ah, DragonCon is over for this year, and with the help of two of my dearest friends, we had a great time.

And now, I'm afraid, it is back to reality. Fortunately, my reality is pretty darn good.

I think today we'll go with a garden update as of today:

You can see the cucumbers off to the left are completely gone, but they sure gave it their all this year. We were absolutely swimming in cukes, and though I wish we were still getting some, I certainly couldn't complain when they ran out of steam. The eggplant in front of the bean teepee are still going strong, though a little wilted from the sudden heat. The speckled butter beans will hopefully start flowering soon, since there's nowhere else for them to go!

What is interesting here, though, is the teepee to the front right. That's my Mexican Sour Gherkins, and they are my new trap crop for Mexican Bean Beetles. I had no idea this would happen, and at first I was pretty bummed. But then I realized what was happening, and that the death of those gherkins was the saving grace of my other plants.

I still have the damn beetles and their larvae on some other plants, but it isn't nearly the infestation it would otherwise be.

I thought I was too late when I planted these sunflowers, but they are happy and beautiful as can be. I need to plant many, many more next year. They make me incredibly happy. The one in back is probably ten feet tall!

Four seeds = lots of birdhouse gourds, even given less than ideal conditions. I can't get over how many gourds are on my arbor! Hopefully I can stave the mildew and bean beetles off long enough for them to ripen!